Freemuse

26/08/2026

Cultural philanthropist Osman Kavala has been in prison since 2017. Yesterday, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled again that Türkiye violated his rights and said he must be released as soon as possible.

Kavala, founder of Anadolu Kültür, a civil society organisation supporting cultural exchange and the arts, was detained over alleged links to the 2013 Gezi Park protests and later sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

Film producer Çiğdem Mater and documentary filmmaker Mine Özerden were sentenced to 18 years in the same case and have been jailed since April 2022.

Kavala funded culture. Mater and Özerden made films. Three rulings, eight and a half years later, and Turkey continues to resist the pressure to reverse course.

And it is artists and cultural workers who pay.

Freemuse calls for their immediate and unconditional release and for an end to the prosecution of artists and cultural workers for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Read more: https://www.freemuse.org/european-court-of-human-rights-osman-kavala-must-be-released-immediately

📷 Osman Kavala’s website.

25/08/2026

Chinese artist Gao Zhen has been sentenced to three years in prison for "slandering China's heroes and martyrs" through his satirical art mocking Mao Zedong.

Gao Zhen, 70, is half of the internationally acclaimed Gao Brothers duo. He was detained while visiting China in August 2024 and has remained in detention since. Taking into account the time he has already served, his sentence will expire in August 2027. He intends to appeal his conviction.

Freemuse joins international condemnation of the sentence against Gao Zhen and calls for his conviction to be overturned and for him to be freed immediately and unconditionally, enabling him and his family to return to the USA.

Read more: https://www.freemuse.org/gao-zhen-three-years-in-prison-for-art-mocking-mao

📷️ Wikimedia | Kimberli Mäkäräinen

24/08/2026

Freemuse and Selam have submitted a joint report to the UN Universal Periodic Review of Uganda. The report points to serious concerns about artistic freedom, even with recent legal progress.

Since 2023, Uganda's Constitutional Court has struck down several repressive provisions used against artists and government critics. Artists still face harsh penalties for satirical content about the President, and laws restricting criticism remain in force.

The submission also highlights politically motivated suppression, including concert cancellations and the unresolved disappearance of musician King Zale, missing since April 2026.

Freemuse and Selam call for stronger protections for artists, credible investigations into disappearances, and the repeal of laws shielding public officials from criticism.

Read more: https://www.freemuse.org/ugandas-artists-still-at-risk-despite-court-victories

13/08/2026

Freemuse's mid-2026 updates continue, this time turning to Latin America. Between January and June 2026, Freemuse and Cartel Urbano's Bulla platform documented at least 75 violations of artistic freedom in the region. Music was the art form most affected. But artists keep creating, and resisting.

Censorship in Peru, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina increasingly comes through administrative decisions, vague legislation and executive orders. A satirical sculpture was pulled in Peru just minutes before its opening. Murals were painted over in Mexico and Colombia. In Argentina, songs were quietly dropped from state radio.

Some of the violence has been deadly. In Colombia, Mexico and Peru, musicians and cultural workers, caught up in extortion and organised crime, keep getting killed, often with no one held accountable. In Cuba, independent artists are detained and prosecuted for nothing more than their work.

Courts in Argentina and Brazil have pushed back, ruling against censorship.

Artistic freedom is inseparable from human rights.

Read the full report: https://www.freemuse.org/latin-america-censored-not-fully-protected

10/08/2026

Freemuse’s mid-2026 update highlights the growing pressures facing artists in the MENA region. Artists are confronting war, displacement and mounting restrictions on freedom of expression, but they continue to create, document and resist.

In Lebanon, war has devastated communities and disrupted a vibrant cultural life. In occupied Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian artists continue to document loss, memorialise their stories and protect cultural heritage despite violence, displacement and siege. In Morocco, Algeria and Egypt, artists and filmmakers face detention, prosecution and restrictions linked to their work and expression.

Across the region, artists continue to make art, tell their stories and bear witness, often at extraordinary personal risk.

Artistic freedom is inseparable from human rights.

Read the full report: https://www.freemuse.org/mena-artists-confronting-war-and-repression

05/08/2026

https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executions-hangings-protests-/33817572.html

Iranian writers, filmmakers, and other cultural figures have joined the outcry against a surge of executions in the country, using the hashtag "Do Not Execute" to criticize the continued use of the death penalty in a crackdown on political dissent from mass protests in January.

05/08/2026

UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan raised concerns in her June 2026 report, following a visit to Germany earlier that year, about growing pressure on artistic freedom, particularly around artistic and political expression related to Israel and Palestine.

Freemuse calls on German authorities and funding bodies to protect cultural institutions from political pressure and ensure arts funding is based on merit, transparency and respect for freedom of expression.

Read more here: https://www.freemuse.org/un-special-rapporteur-raises-concerns-over-artistic-freedom-in-germany

28/07/2026

What happens when artists begin censoring themselves before anyone else has the chance to?

We spoke with the people behind Understanding the Impact of Self-Censorship among Artists and Cultural Workers in Malaysia, a new pilot study commissioned by ArtsEquator and Five Arts Centre and conducted by Merdeka Centre.

Based on interviews and focus groups with 37 practitioners, the study shows how fear of backlash, harassment and professional consequences can shape a work long before it reaches the public.

As one artist put it: “When you censor yourself, the work feels incomplete. It’s like delivering half the message.”

But artists are also finding strength in one another. “Alone, I’d probably censor more. With others, you feel braver.”

"Self-censorship tends to get treated as an individual act. This report suggests it is bigger than that: it is a system of anticipation, shaped by law, institutions, audiences, and fear, that quietly defines the boundaries of artistic freedom."

Read the interview: https://www.freemuse.org/the-silence-before-censorship-how-self-censorship-shapes-artistic-freedom-in-malaysia

27/07/2026

Freemuse’s mid-2026 update reveals a recurring pattern in Türkiye: one step forward, two steps back for artistic freedom.

Filmmakers targeted: Bakur cinematographer Koray Kesik was sentenced to more than two years in prison on “terrorist propaganda” charges linked to a documentary about Kurdish issues.

Opposition supporters prosecuted: Actor Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu and photographer Murat Germen are among 21 people charged for supporting a boycott campaign targeting government linked companies. Requests for acquittal were rejected in May 2026.

The crackdown on LGBTI+ communities intensifies: An anti-LGBTI+ bill has been reintroduced, activists remain on trial, and organisations have been shut down.

Concerts banned: Metal bands have been accused of “Satanism”, while online pressure campaigns have led to cancellations and even the closure of an entire venue.

There have been some exceptions. Filmmaker Rojhilat Aksoy and activist Defne Güzel were acquitted. Yet the treatment of the film Rojbash illustrates the wider pattern: banned, unbanned, then banned again.

Meaningful change requires sustained reform: ending the arbitrary use of laws against artists and safeguarding the independence of cultural and democratic institutions.

Artistic freedom is not separate from human rights.

Read the full report: https://www.freemuse.org/turkiye-one-step-forward-two-steps-back

22/07/2026

Art & Artificial Intelligence:
Friend, Foe or the Future of Creativity?

Artificial Intelligence is already reshaping the creative world.
From music and film to literature, design and digital art, AI is changing how creativity is imagined, produced and shared.

But important questions remain...
Will AI empower artists or replace them?
Who owns AI-generated creative work?
How can artists embrace innovation while protecting their rights?
What does all this mean for Africa's creative future?

Join the PANAF Webinar Series II as leading artists, legal experts and creative industry practitioners unpack one of the biggest conversations facing the cultural sector today.

When: 30th July 2026
Time: 3.00 PM – 5:00 PM (EAT)
Where: Online
Register here: https://forms.gle/jXnveGUmHLNV6GDv5

Come be part of the conversation shaping the future of creativity in Africa.

#

SELAM, Kulturrådet, Swedish Institute, Freemuse, People's Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, ARC - Artists at Risk Connection, PAWA 254, Selam Ethiopia, Safe Haven Trust